FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The No. 5-ranked Alaska Nanooks rifle team punched its ticket to the 2015 NCAA Rifle Championships on Saturday afternoon by posting a 4,700 to defeat No. 13 Nevada and No. 19 UTEP for the second time this week at the E.F. Horton Range.
The Nanooks will now travel to Akron, Ohio to compete for their 11th NCAA Championship. The Nanooks were able to make the trek back to the Championship thanks to an even keeled performance from their entire scoring five. Head coach Dan Jordan was pleased to see his team scores out and put together back-to-back solid performances at home this weekend.
"That was the goal for the weekend, more consistency," said the head man after the meet. "We had good performances on both days, but we haven't peaked out yet. There are still some easy points out there for us. So we have to tweak somethings before going to Akron, but we're excited to be heading back."
As of this release, the Nanooks qualifying score was the second-highest in the nation, but a number of teams are scheduled to shoot their qualifiers on Sunday.
The 4,700 aggregated score is the third-time this season that the No. 5 Nooks have posted a 4,700-or-higher. All three times have come at the E.F. Horton range, as they hit a season-best 4,711 against Air Force back on Oct. 18 and a 4,709 just two days ago against the Wolfpack and Miners. Alaska posted a 2,367 in the air gun and a 2,333 in the smallbore to equal the 4,700 score.
Redshirt sophomore Sagen Maddalena captured her second air gun title of the week, by shooting 597. Maddalena hit 100 in three of her six rounds. Fellow sophomore Luke Johnson followed with a 592 to place second, while freshman JT Schnering scored a 590 to give the Nooks a 1-2-3 finish in the air gun. Redshirt junior Soren Butler and senior All-American Tim Sherry rounded out the scoring for the Nanooks with a 588 and 582, respectively.
Sherry shined in the smallbore, as the 2014 National Champion posted a 586 to win the event title on Saturday. Sherry hit 100 in two rounds and hit the X 39 times. Maddalena followed suit with a 585, while Schnering and Butler each posted a 581 to place third and fourth. Johnson placed seventh in the smallbore to round out the day for Alaska in the event with a 578.
The No. 5-ranked Nanooks will take the rest of the month of February off, as they'll prepare for the 2016 NCAA Rifle Championships, which takes place on March 11 and 12 in Akron, Ohio.
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks rifle team, follow @NanooksRifle on Twitter or like Alaska Nanooks Rifle on Facebook.
